Ankita Bhandari murder: 3 key accused remanded in SIT custody

The Special Investigation Team investigating the Ankita Bhandari murder case has taken the three main accused on police remand, an official said on Saturday.

Accused Pulkit Arya, owner of the resort where Bhandari was working as a receptionist, and his two accomplices — resort manager Saurabh Bhaskar and assistant manager Ankit Gupta — were arrested on September 23 for allegedly killing her after she refused to give ‘extra service’ to a VIP customer who is yet to be identified.

The trio may also be taken to the crime scene to establish the sequence of events, the official said on the condition of anonymity.

Revenue police sub-inspector Vaibhav Pratap Singh, who is under suspension for dereliction of duty for allegedly not registering an FIR in the case despite being approached, is also being interrogated.

Further, the investigating team has recorded the statement of Ankita’s friend with whom she had a chat on the day of her murder.

The SIT has constituted five teams to speed up investigation into the case, which has triggered a massive public outrage in the state.

It has also recovered a mobile phone from the Chilla canal into which Ankita had allegedly been thrown. The phone has been handed over to the forensic team, the official said.